(Published in The Arizona Republic on 11/8/2006.)
Staff Sgt. Jason D. Whitehouse re-enlisted again in 2003 because he wanted to be there to protect his fellow Marines. But during his second tour in Iraq, he also felt compassion for the country he was fighting in. "The first tour ... he was basically there helping to protect other Marines. It was rough but he didn't tell us much," said his mother, Carol Whitehouse Bruno. "This tour, he became more sympathetic to the Iraqi people and what they were sacrificing."

Whitehouse, 27, was killed Nov. 2 while on a ground mission. According to Bruno, her son - along with seven other marines and an interpreter - came across enemy fire. While calling for backup, three improvised explosive devices detonated - killing him instantly. He was a member of the 2nd Intelligence Battalion at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Born in Houston, Whitehouse grew up in Phoenix and showed interest in serving in some branch of the U.S. forces. Bruno, who raised her son as a single mom, recalled how he watched the movie, "Platoon," at least a dozen times. Shortly after taking a few community college classes, Whitehouse enlisted in 1999. Survivors include his wife, Lindsay, and their two children; father, Richard Roach; and sister, Rachael Michael.

Whitehouse was one of two Marines based at Camp Lejeune to be killed that day in the province. Approximately 235 Marines from Camp Lejeune units have been killed in Iraq since the war began, the base said.

Whitehouse was a member of the Second Intelligence Battalion at Camp Lejeune. No details on his death were immediately available.

And an Army tank crewman from Mesa was killed in Iraq Sunday when an improvised explosive device exploded, the Department of Defense announced Tuesday. Spc. Douglas C. Desjardins, 24, died in Ar Ramadi when the bomb went off next to his M1A1 Abrams tank. Desjardins was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, based in Giessen, Germany.